Either do 30mpg in our second car or sit in when the winter snow comes not earning.

Totally unnecessary.

Whats unnecessary is cars who think just cause your a 4×4 they dont need to slow down an move over on country roads and expect you to get into the ditch so they can pass at 60.. I just stop on my side still on the road- they soon slow down.

Drive what you like. Those stating that 4x4s are unnecessary are akin to those posting on bike forums slating people for daring to ride 6 inch full sussers at FoD. Who cares and who really cares enough to log onto a forum to have a pop?!

People driving over bikes in car parks and not having the decency to be civil about it are another matter though, regardless of the legalities involved. Sadly my experience of human nature suggests otherwise but surely you couldn’t do that and not feel responsible and willing to make amends in some way?

If you went out and left your door unlocked and come home to find you had been robbed you would still want to catch the culprit ,
Although I’m guessing you other half would probably put the blame squarely at your door.
And good luck with your insurance claim.

So in your professional capacity you’d let off a scrote who stole stuff from an unlocked house or car because it was the owner’s fault?

Sure the police would do their best to catch the tea-leaf, but the insurance company certainly wouldn’t pay out.

Sometimes you just have to take responsibility for your own stuff, getting your bike run over by a reversing car in a trail centre car park is easily foreseeable, even if technically the 4×4 driver was at fault.

I was actually in the strange position of charging and remanding a thief who’d stolen a mates bike locked by just its front wheel recently. The thief pleaded guilty, he got a suspended prison sentence, but immediately after the theft said mate accepted his complacency left him partly responsible (none of the fully locked bikes next to his were taken).

I am not wound up, it was not my bike that got run over.
Any way I am always right.
If I was wrong do you not think I would know it ( smiley face)(i don’t have emoticons on my phone, if so I don’t know where they are.)

I hope the op gets his bike straightened out.
If I was the driver I would apologies and judging the situation maybe compromise.
But if I was the op I would probably feel responsible and tell the driver my mistake don’t worry about it. And would be glad at that especially if his car had been damaged.

But this is by the by as I watch my bike like a hawk and would have had it out the way long before it was hit even if I had been complacent about leaving it in the way.

One day after work I was dropping one of the lads off at his house, and while he was unloading his tools I was looking backwards into the van making sure he had everything, and that the back doors were shut. All this while the engine was still running.

Cue me driving off and hearing a horrible crunching sound. It turned out whilst I had been looking backwards that the paper boy had dropped his bike right at the front of the van, so close in fact, it was impossible to see from the drivers position and it was now wedged underneath.

I took the lad home and explained everything to his parents telling them I was sure the gaffer would sort it through the insurance or something. As it turned out the boss tried to get me to pay for it which I flatly refused, as, as far as I was concerned I was covered by the van insurance.

To cut a long story short, the company was taken to small claims court where we lost ( still don’t think it was my fault, but hey ho!) anyhow we were ordered to pay for the bike plus charges.

The gaffer wouldn’t talk to me for about 2 months after that relaying instructions to me via the other lads, even though half the time I would be standing 2′ from him

getting your bike run over by a reversing car in a trail centre car park is easily foreseeable, even if technically the 4×4 driver was at fault.

The second bit is the important bit – I’m sure the OP is kicking himself for leaving the bike in such a position and won’t do it again, but all you lot telling him that isn’t really helping, is it? 4×4 car driver is at fault here wherever the bike was left (given we’ve established it wasn’t plonked down in front of the car after the driver got in) – which isn’t exactly what you said, was it crashtestmonkey?

Hmmm. If I am in a trail centre car park, it is not unreasonable for me to expect that there might be, rightly or wrongly, bikes left here, there and everywhere.
On top of that, I look out for bits of kit like helmets and camelbaks, small children, dogs and any other hazard that may be damaged by me running into them.
I also manoeuvre about as slowly as possible just on the off chance that there is something or someone that I can’t see/haven’t anticipated.

I do similar things in supermarket car parks, shopping centre car parks or anywhere else where you would expect to come into contact (not literally) with people and their stuff.

Surely that’s not too difficult. Perhaps the OP shouldn’t have put his bike where he did. It’s hard to know without being there but regardless of the vehicle the bloke was driving, I don’t think you can justify crashing into someone elses stuff because in your opinion it was in the wrong place.
A bike laying on the floor of a trail centre car park, presumably relatively near a vehicle is not outside the realms of expectation, surely?!
Why can’t people just be more careful and try to get along a bit better?

Caution contents may be hot, that can be often found on coffee cups, I should blinking hope so I always think.

That piece of cautionary advice is to protect idiots from themselves or rather companies from being sued by idiots who for some reason did not realise a freshly poured cup of coffee could burn you.

That seems to be a theme in modern life protecting people from themselves.
If you don’t want your bike to get run over, don’t leave it in somewhere it could quite easily be so.

If I left my bike in some ones way at a carpark and they hit it I would feel more responsible than if I hit someone else’s bike in similar circumstances.

Because I would have what appears to be so lacking in this day and age, common sense to realise my bike was in danger by leaving it there in the first place and if that failed I would have the good manners to realise my actions were impeding someone else and when they started there engine said what a minute mate and moved my bike out of harms way.

You laid it down for FIFTEEN minutes, in the middle of a car park ??? I’m surprised it wasn’t run over multiple times.
When I’m in public places with my bike, I assume everyone is going to either damage it or steal it.
Why didn’t you put it straight in the boot?
Sorry, but if think you need to suck this up as a life-lesson.
Could have spent the £20 on one of these 😉

Many of us run this risk. It was left lying on the road. I can’t think how you would get enough angle on a large 4×4 out of a parking space without the bike being left in the way. When I leave my bike like this I key an eye on the surroundings. I think you failed the bike.

hora – Member
don’t leave your bike lying on the floor of a carpark in future.
Its a difficult call. Where do you put your bike? Against your vehicle? (fall/scratch etc) – on a verge etc in carpark out of grabbing-distance? Chance of being pinched.

Are you a man or a mouse?

So you leave your bike out of ‘grabbing distance’. Are things so bad where you live that some scrote dare take your bike from under your nose?

Just read your story ‘Alpin’. WTF!!!! You overtook a woman for no other reason than to preach at her sanctimoniously then act surprised when she runs into you!!!!!

No wonder you lot are always getting into scrapes.

You have no idea what’s going on in the head of any car driver: they might be drunk; depressed; just caught their missus boning a cyclist; on the way to the hospital; be a manic depressant; have just robbed a bank etc etc.